Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Who are my friends?

Never abandon a friend-- either yours or your father's. When disaster strikes, you won't have to ask your brother for assistance. It's better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away. Proverbs 27:10

Who are your friends Ask yourself that. Why are they your friends? (And yes, accountability partner or sponsor count). It's because we have something in common, right. Neighbors? Parents of our kids' friends? Coworkers? Siblings?

Now ask yourself, if you needed something in an emergency, who would you ask? Now ask yourself, why would you ask them? Is it because they live close by? Or is it because they know your struggles and support you?  Whatever the answer -- it's yours to own.

But ask yourself, do you have a person like that in your life? If you answer no, then ask why? God didn't put us here to not have deep relationships.  He wants us to be with people - and therefore, it's going to be with something you have in common. You are worthy - I have no doubt in that.

Many who have an addiction feel that they are not worthy.  No one is going to want to truly love someone who has lived a life of sin? But, the first step in cultivating that deep relationship - is taking the time to get to know someone. Relationships take time but are very much worth the investment.  With a person that you feel safe, open up and tell them one thing about yourself that you think is interesting about yourself.  See where the conversation flows from there.



Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Will You Be My Friend?

If someone days, "I love God", but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don't love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? I John 4:20


I read this quote that said "To find a friend one must close one eye. To keep him..two" It's by Norman Douglas. It really got me thinking not about my friends (cuz goodness knows how I love them) but rather it got me thinking about myself.  I was thinking about my faults and failures and that my friends look right past those to love me for who I am.

We were born to have connection with others. It's why God made Eve for Adam because he knew that man needed something more than just himself.  But we loose those connections with people when we dive deeply into our addictions and hang ups and hurts.  And as we loose connections we start to tell ourselves that nobody would want to be my friend.  I'm a loser and have nothing to offer.

But, if that were true, why did God make you?  Didn't he make you for the purpose of blessing others? In life, we don't need the 1000 friends on Facebook to feel loved.  Rather, we just need those 2 or 3 good friends to love us as we are - those who can close their eyes and look past out failings because they have already examined their own.

It's one of the reasons that I created the recoveryBox app. By finding someone who has already walked the journey that you are on, they have already self-examined and can look past faults in order to bring healing.

Find one good friend today. Close your eyes and look past their failures but listen to their encouraging words - because that's what they are doing for you.




Thursday, March 9, 2017

Praying Friends


Praying Friends from Our Daily Bread


I met my friend Angie for lunch after having not seen her for several months. At the end of our time together, she pulled out a piece of paper with notes from our previous get-together. It was a list of my prayer requests she had been praying for since then. She went through each one and asked if God had answered yet or if there were any updates. And then we talked about her prayer requests. How encouraging to have a praying friend!
The apostle Paul had a praying relationship with the churches he served, including the one at Thessalonica. He thanked God for the faith, love, and hope of the people (1 Thess. 1:2-3). He longed to see them, and asked God “night and day” that he might be able to visit them again (3:10-11). He requested that the Lord would help them “increase and abound in love to one another and to all” (v.12). He also prayed that their hearts would be blameless before God (v.13). They must have been encouraged as they read about Paul’s concern and prayers for them. Paul knew too his own need for God’s presence and power and pleaded, “Brethren, pray for us” (5:25).
Loving Father, thank You for wanting us to talk with You. Teach us all to be praying friends.
I need the prayers of those I love
While traveling on life’s rugged way,
That I may true and faithful be,
And live for Jesus every day. —Vaughn